Author's Note: Before you read this fan-fic, check my last one, The Last
Gift She Expected. See that note up the top of every chapter? That bit
that says "I do not own Gainax or any of its creations"? You don't? Ah
well...anyway, I didn't then, and since then I haven't suddenly inherited a
small mint, so I don't now, either.
Where Am I? Chapter 4 - It Always Hurts The First Time : Low Voltage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
Aoba reached his hand into the machine, pulling out a can of ICC canned coffee. A young child ran past him, proclaiming to the world that he had just won an ice cream bar. Aoba saw this and smiled.
[Even in times like this,] he thought, [Children can still live without a care in the world...lucky bastards...]
Aoba glanced into the window of the laundromat, where Ritsuko and Maya had just received their washing.
"God, the price of getting my laundry done is killing me!" Ritsuko exclaimed.
Maya agreed. "I know, I just wish I had the time to do laundry myself..."
Aoba now joined. "It could be worse. At least you sleep at home."
---------------
[Hmm...They finally caught that Osama Bin Laden guy..." Fuyutski commented as he read the paper. The trains were surprisingly efficient as the one he was on stopped at the City Centre only ten minutes late. The doors opened, as three people walked onboard. He lowered his paper, one of the people looking familiar to him.
"Oh, Commander Fuyutski," Ritsuko recognised her superior, "Good morning, sir."
Behind her, Maya and Aoba gave a slightly more rigid, official greeting. "Good Morning, Sir!"
Fuyutski grumbled slightly. "Good morning," he said. The doors hit home, and the train started to move again.
"You're up early today, sir," Ritsuko commented.
"I've got to represent Commander Ikari at a board meeting uptown," Fuyutski complained, "He always sticks me with the most tedious assignments... No way I could handle it all without the Magi's help. By the way, how's Unit Five coming along?"
"It's finished," Ritsuko said proudly, "The pilot's coming in for a test run this afternoon. Apart from that, we're going to go along with Unit Zero's second Prolonged Activation test."
"Ah, well, I expect good news..."
---------------
Cyan was trying to pay attention to the less than thrilling monotone voice of the elderly teacher, he really was, but for one he could barely understand him with his thick Japanese accent, and two, it was much more fun playing Unreal Tournament 2013 on his laptop.
CyanChosis was dishing it out to ZeroTaku, B-Boy, and Nobody like there was no tomorrow with his personal favourite: the Flak Cannon. He knew it was a cheap tactic, but more importantly, it was an effective one. It was easy to distinguish who was who, because of not just the names, but the custom made skins (by Kensuke) for each person there, except Cyan. Cyan had to stick with Remus (his regular character back from the days of UT 2003). While he knew that Kensuke was slightly more of a challenge, it was always fun to pick on Toji, who really was pathetic at shooting games. Shinji, however, turned out to be going fairly well, despite his tendency toward camping. Finally, Cyan filled Toji's face full of shrapnel once more and the match was over, with a roar of "GOD-LIKE!" over his headphones. Cyan gave a quiet "Yeah" as the results rolled up, telling the players that Cyan won on 150, followed closely by Kensuke on 146, then Shinji on 87, and Toji lingering back at 23. Cyan's hands rattled over the keyboard.
----------
CyanChosis: 4Ny0Ne UP for 4No+h3R?
ZeroTaku: $h1+! 1 4Lmo5T H4D y0U!
CyanChosis: 1t DOE5N'T m4++3r 1F u W1N By 4N INCh OR 4 M1L3, wiNNiNG i5 w1nniNg. U'll dO gOOD T0 RemEMBEr th4T, A1dA-B0y.
ZeroTaku: 53R10U$ly, DoN't C4lL ME +hAt!
CyanChosis: Hey, Shinji, u weren't bad for a newb.
Nobody: Thanks, Cyan. When did u learn to play?
CyanChosis: I used 2 train for at least 2 hours every night. I lived so far out of town, it was all I had 2 do at home. So, anyone else want another owning?
** MistressOfAll has joined the game **
MistressOfAll: U don't know the meaning of the word owning, Chosis!
CyanChosis: Ah, I was wondering when u'd turn up, Asuka...
** Blue has joined the game **
CyanChosis: REI!? U2?
Blue: I agree with Sohryu. We will destroy you.
CyanChosis: IS THIS A CHALLENGE??? U guys are on!
ZeroTaku: This'll make things interesting! I'm in!
Nobody: I think I'll sit this one out...
MistressOfAll: O NO U DON'T!!! U R NOT QUITTING ON ME NOW!
Nobody: Oh, alright...
** ClassRep has joined the game **
MistressOfAll: Ah, hi Hikari, I was just about to invite u...
ClassRep: come on, we're in class, you know! Out of this now!
MistressOfAll: come on, Hikari, join us...Toji's in...
ClassRep: Toji? Um...
ZeroTaku: Toji and Hikari sittin in a tree...
B-Boy: SHUT UP YOU LITTL ESHIT!
ClassRep: Ah, alright...I'm not that good, though...
MistressOfAll: Don't worry, the Stooges are easy beats, but by the look of those scores, we'll have to watch out 4 Cyan.
CyanChosis: Ooh, I'm a marked man now, am I?
MistressOfAll: Okay, what rules? Random Split Deathmatch?
CyanChosis: Random Split? WTF?
ZeroTaku: Random Split means teams are chosen randomly. Asuka, there's 7 ppl here...
MistressOfAll: Well 1 team has a xtra playr, don't they? How about we make it short, play to 10.
CyanChosis: Sounds cool to me! Let's get it on!
-----------
Kensuke (the initial user) clicked Play. The arena loaded, presenting everyone's screen with the same "Haul Ass!" screen, before the Teams table loaded. Toji, Rei, Shinji and Kensuke were on the Blue team, leaving Hikari, Asuka and Cyan on Red.
-----------
MistressOfAll: Ahh! Just my colour! And an all-girl team, too!
CyanChosis: U're lucky we're on the same team, Asuka...
MistressOfAll: U no, if u're that good, how'd you let Kensuke get that close to you in the last game?
CyanChosis: Ah, that's the key word...LET...
ClassRep: Um, how do I move?
MistressOfAll: Aaah! We gots a complete newb! Okay, Directional buttons are forward, back, and turning, mouse aims and fires, Space or Control jumps. Got it?
ClassRep: Okay. Now, let's own em while they suck us down!
CyanChosis: Aaah rofl! That's "suck IT down". Not that I'm sure if Toji would mind...
MistressOfAll: Gah! Perverse dumbkopf! Remind me to kill u when we get back home!
CyanChosis: That's not the sort of thing I remember easy...
MistressOfAll: Ah, shut up the game's starting!
-----------------
Indeed, the screen did immediately begin to go into Heads-up mode. Hikari followed Asuka toward the weapons and ammo, while Cyan hunted down his trusty Flak Cannon. On the way, he noticed that he was being shot, from the side, it seemed. He looked up, and saw a figure standing on a raised platform, firing a Lightning Gun at him. Cyan ran for cover, finding the safety of a tower before another shot could be fired. He faced forward again, only to find Toji waiting for him with a Bio Rifle.
Cyan strafed from Toji's fire, letting loose a volley of Link charges. Toji ate plasma, giving Cyan enough time to strafe back from cover and fire the concentrated Link beam at his face, blinding him while draining his health. Toji's body fell, and Cyan thought he had got the first kill, but evidently, Rei had, as just below the "You killed B-Boy" message was a "Blue drew first blood!" Looking back at the message counter while on the run, he read, "MistressOfAll tried to ride Blue's rocket."
[Asuka!] Cyan cursed as he ran for the Flak Cannon, now visible. When he was within three digital feet of it, pieces of red-hot lead zoomed past his face. Turning, he saw Rei with a Flak Cannon of her own, concentrated on Cyan. Cyan collected his favourite weapon before engaging in a shrapnel fight with Rei Ayanami. Asuka ran past, taking the opportunity to sneak past Rei and get the Damage Multiplier. Asuka then fired her Lightning Gun past Cyan, and he read "MistressOfAll's attack shocked Nobody" at the bottom of the screen.
[Thanks, Asuka,] he thought, then typed after he had dispatched Rei with some flying molten metal. Asuka ran off, looking for any of the Stooges. Cyan headed up, knocking off Shinji once, along with Toji twice and Rei once more, until he found the sniper spot from where Cyan was fired upon before. Sure enough, Kensuke was there, concentrated on the battle below, firing the odd shot. Cyan took the time to send a message to his friend before killing him: "Hey, Kensuke, want me to pitch a tent for ya!?"
----------------
Kensuke turned around, but alas, too late, as he copped another face full of Flak, his twenty-seventh this afternoon. "Dammit!" he shouted aloud in the classroom, attracting the attention of all its inhabitants.
"Mr. Aida," the teacher said, in his usual monotone voice, "What exactly are you damning?"
Back on the computer, Hikari had scored the winning kill against a motionless but resurrected Kensuke, and she, Rei, Shinji, Asuka and Cyan immediately exiting the program before they were all busted. The teacher used a ScreenChecker (Kensuke's own extra-credit project) to see what was on Kensuke's laptop.
"Oh, playing games again, are we?" the teacher discovered.
Kensuke gulped. "It...Wasn't..."
"I know it wasn't just you, I see that someone called B-Boy is playing too...Toji?"
It was Toji's turn to stand up and shout "Dammit!" now. "But we weren't the only ones! Asuka and Hikari and Cyan..."
Asuka turned around. "How DARE you accuse me of associating myself with you, let alone play one of your silly shooting games! And to accuse the class rep of such a heinous crime is inexcusable!"
"This is wrong!" Cyan piped up; "Here I am trying to catch up in my History work, while Kensuke's playing such an addictive game right in front of me! You don't know how distracting it is to see him die all the time!"
Kensuke blew his top. "WHAT!? YOU WERE THE ONE KILLING ME!!!"
Cyan lowered his voice, grinning from ear to ear. "How could I? I wasn't playing..."
"That's it!" the teacher bellowed. "Aida, Suzuhara, you're both on detention!"
"WHAT?! THAT'S UNFAIR!" The pair shouted in dismay.
Asuka could only laugh on the inside. [I can't believe that worked! If only there was a way I could convince the teacher that Baka Shinji was playing as well without putting my own head in a noose...]
Her thoughts were interrupted by a pop-up message. She opened it.
CyanChosis: I never got the chance to show you a real owning.
Asuka smirked. [This could be fun...]
MistressOfAll: You're ON!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
Note: Sorry, been playing too much UT 2003 lately, just had to get that out of my system. By the way, I don't own Unreal either, so don't ask, don't sue, don't even say another word about it. Now, where were we?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
After a few more games, both Asuka and Cyan respected each other's owning abilities, and they called it a tie. It was lucky they reached this conclusion, as shortly after, the dismissal bell rung clear. As the class rose from their chairs, the teacher tried to inform them of a coming test, but nobody could hear the poor man.
"Uh, the test will cover...it will cover..." the teacher now found it a lost cause. He then spotted Toji and Kensuke trying to sneak out. "Hey, you two! Did you forget you had a detention?"
The two stooges cursed silently, and went back to their seats. Asuka let out a laugh, and proceeded out the door. Cyan followed, and eventually caught up with her, Rei and Shinji.
"So, going home?" Cyan said.
"We've got sync tests," Shinji lamented, "I think it's just us three."
"Sync tests? Well, good luck, I suppose?"
"Luck's got nothing to do with it," Asuka said brashly, "It's all down to the skill of the pilot. Not that I have to worry about that!"
"Well, confidence is always good too," Cyan smirked. "I'll meet you guys back at the house."
"See you later!" Shinji said, as they walked away. Suddenly, Shinji's cell phone rang. He answered with a meek "Hello?"
"Shinji," Misato said over the phone, "Is Cyan with you?"
"Hai, hang on a sec," Shinji put his hand over the mouthpiece, and shouted out to Cyan. He turned and started walking back.
"Tell him to go to NERV HQ," Misato commanded, "Unit Five is ready. We're setting your sync tests back until tomorrow. I'll see you at home after the test is over."
"Bye." Shinji turned to Cyan. "You're coming with us."
Cyan was slightly surprised by the sudden change of plans. "Oh, okay," he said, "Why the change of plans?"
"They've finished building Unit Five," Shinji explained, "They probably want you for a test run."
"Cool." Cyan began to walk with the group of pilots. "Say, how far is NERV HQ anyway?"
"About 2.3 kilometres," Rei said calmly.
"Jeez," Cyan said to himself as he walked on, in the opposite direction to the other three.
---------------
"Abort the test! Break the circuits!" Ritsuko commanded as the monitor flashed 'EMERGENCY' repeatedly. The room went black for about five seconds, before restoring itself.
"Power restored," Aoba reported. Ritsuko and Maya watched with intent as representations of the many connections inside the Eva appeared on the screen. One that read GTT1001 glowed red, standing out amongst the green ones.
"That one again!" Ritsuko said angrily, "What's wrong with it?"
"Conversion efficiency is down 0.8% from expectations," Maya explained.
"Okay, let's go over again," Ritsuko said, "but lower the reciprocal conversion rate by 0.01. Let's go."
---------------
At that time, elsewhere in the depths of NERV Central, Misato had just boarded an elevator, when she heard a familiar cry from behind her.
"Hey! Hold the elevator!" she heard Kaji cry. With a slight smile, she pushed the 'Close Doors' button. Kaji ran the few metres in between him and the elevator, Misato hoping that he wouldn't make it. Alas, his hand reached into the small gap that the elevator had left, and the doors opened to accommodate the rest of his body.
Misato cursed her misfortune, as Kaji entered the elevator. "Man, it's been a while since I've run that much!" Kaji commented, gasping for air, "So, what's with the black expression, sunshine?"
Misato was livid. "It's nausea from having to see you again," she retorted.
-------------
Cyan gazed up at the head of Evangelion Unit Five from the catwalk. "So, this is my Evangelion..." he said in amazement. The design was similar to that of Unit One, with the replacement of the purple and green colour scheme with one of teal and dark brown, giving it a camouflage appearance. As with Unit One, a horn had been added to the faceplate, creating a darker appearance.
"Yes," Ritsuko confirmed, "This is Evangelion Unit Five..."
Cyan asked a question that had been bugging him. "What happened to Units Three and Four?"
"They're still being made in the Unites States," Ritsuko explained, "It's taking so long because of the Mechanic's Union strikes in America. That and Americans being so damn lazy..."
Cyan stifled a laugh. "So this is combat-ready?" he asked, referring to the Evangelion in front of him.
"Yep, you're scheduled for a test run in half an hour. Get suited up and back here by eighteen-hundred."
"Hai." Cyan walked out of the Cage room. He looked back at his Evangelion one last time. [My Eva...]
------------
"So, Shinji," Asuka began, "What's for tea tonight?"
"Don't ask me," Shinji replied, "It's Misato's turn again..." The two pilots shuddered at the thought.
"Take out?" Asuka suggested fast food.
"Sure," Shinji said, relieving Asuka to no end. Rei followed the two pilots, staying quiet. Suddenly, she stopped walking. Asuka and Shinji took a couple more paces each, before noticing Rei was not following.
"What's wrong, Rei?" Shinji asked.
"We must get to NERV Central immediately," was all Rei said, before turning and running toward NERV.
"Huh? What's Wondergirl up to now..?" Asuka wondered.
"Hmm...Hey, that must be Cyan's new Eva..." Shinji noticed the Evangelion seemingly rise from the ground. "Looks a bit like mine..."
Asuka watched Cyan come to grips with walking, running and all the basic stuff that she had already mastered. She noticed that the Eva was indeed a lot like Shinji's, it almost had the appearance of an old Japanese samurai, especially with the long sheath attached to its left side.
-------------
"Very good, Cyan," Ritsuko complimented the new pilot, "It's not all that different from the test bodies, as you can tell..."
"Yeah, but I'm getting this strange feeling in my stomach," Cyan complained, "Is this normal?"
"What, you're nervous?"
"No, it's not that...it's a kind of...I'm not sure, anticipation?"
"Strange...your mental readings are normal... Sorry, we can't tell you what the problem is... Anyway, on with the lesson. You know about the Evangelion's AT field?"
"Um, no..."
"Basically, it's a protective barrier that the Eva can create around itself. To use it, either command the Eva to use it verbally, or concentrate on deploying it yourself. If you do this, your AT field will activate and you can use it to deflect the enemy's attacks."
"Sweet..."
"Don't rely on it, though," Ritsuko warned, "It's quite tricky to use."
--------------
Even further in the depths of NERV, a shadowy figure crept toward a thick cable, cradling a chainsaw in his hands. Starting the chainsaw, he brought the rotating teeth of the chain down on the cable, severing it with sparkling electricity...
-------------
The digital projection of the city disappeared from the inside of Cyan's entry plug, leaving him in the dark.
"Hey, what's going on, Ritsuko?" Cyan asked. No response. "Ritsuko?" Still nothing. "Something's happened..."
-------------
Back in the elevator, all of the lights blacked out. The elevator, however, was still going
"Huh? What's happened? Did the power go?" Kaji said.
"Of course not, that's impossible!" Misato declared. Almost as if to directly contradict her, the elevator immediately stopped moving.
"I think it has..." Kaji confirmed the obvious truth in a singsong voice, infuriating Misato further.
"Not to worry," Misato said confidently, "The backup power supply will kick in soon."
-------------
"Main power has terminated! Total voltage is zero!" Maya panicked. A similar feeling had spread through most of the Bridge.
Aoba continued with the bad news. "Only 1.2% of backup supply circuits are operational!"
Fuyutski managed the remaining power supply fairly unevenly. "Divert that power to maintaining the Magi."
"But...that could interfere with our life support systems..!" Aoba complained.
"Do it!" Fuyutski snapped, "We need the Magi!"
-------------
"So why is it so important that we get to NERV?" Asuka asked, clearly frustrated by the fast pace that Rei the Blue-Haired Wonder was keeping.
"Look to your right," was Rei's only response. Asuka managed to crane her neck to her right, and saw the reason that they were all running at full steam.
"Is that..?"
"Looks like it," Shinji panted, "Not to worry though, Cyan's still in his Eva. He can take care of it."
"Evangelion Unit Five has ceased function," Rei said, with full voice despite the hard running, "The power has failed throughout the city."
"How do you know all this stuff already?" Asuka was curious of how Rei seemed to know everything before it happens.
"There are no traffic lights..."
"Ah, shut up!" Asuka continued to run, pouring on more gas in an attempt to overtake Rei. Shinji decided to hang back.
"Good, you're keeping up now," Rei said clearly, as she too increased her speed, completely outstripping Asuka.
"Ah, dammit!" Asuka said, staggering to a halt, letting Rei and Shinji bolt past again before starting to run again.
---------------
"Why is it taking so long for the backup power to kick in!?" Misato had lost her patience.
"Something might be wrong with the backup generator," Kaji suggested.
"Really?" Misato groaned melodramatically, "Of course there's something wrong with the backup generator! But, there's heaps of different circuits..."
"So that means..."
-----------
"That this was done on purpose." Gendo concluded.
"But, why would someone just want to cut the power?" Fuyutski pondered.
"Well, by monitoring the way we reactivate all of our systems, it is feasible that they could gain a deeper knowledge of the workings of this facility." Ritsuko, as usual, had all the answers.
"Clever bastards," Gendo concluded, "Run a dummy program through the Magi. That should distort the signals sufficiently."
"Affirmative," Ritsuko confirmed, as she typed away. While doing this, Maya commented on the situation.
"It'd be tragic if an Angel attacked right now..."
-----------
"Radar has detected an unidentified object heading north-east towards Tokyo- 3," the military man said, "Roughly 400 metres across."
"Must be the eighth one," the commander said, "Well, nothing we can do 'cept for report it to the JSSDF..."
-----------
"Yes, I know that the Eighth Angel's heading our way, but we're getting no response from NERV! We can't contact them!"
"Well, they told us to take care of it, didn't they?" the JSSDF colonel snarled.
"Yeah, those Tokyo-2 buttheads always defer to us when the going gets tough..."
"Get a plane to fly over or something. We need to tell NERV about the Angel NOW!"
-----------
"Dammit, Asuka," Shinji complained while manually opening a door designed for automatic use (with the help of a stiff, rusted over crank), "You're the one who always wants to be in charge, but when the going gets tough, you always palm it off to me..."
"Quit complaining!" Asuka said in an authoritative tone, "You're a boy, you know!"
Rei said nothing, either deciding not to get involved or just because she wasn't ordered to. Shinji finally got the door open halfway, looking at Asuka with content in his task.
"Hmph, good enough." Asuka pushed Shinji out of the way and wriggled through the gap. Rei watched Shinji gather himself together and slide through the door, before following the other pilots.
------------
"I can't feel, the way I did before, don't turn your back on me, I WON'T BE IGNORED!..."
Cyan was still cut off from the rest of the world, inside his Eva plug. Usually he'd kick back and listen to some music if he was ever bored, but seeing as that was impossible, he sang them himself. He had just finished Linkin Park's Faint when he had decided it was time to try again. Activating the unit's power once more, he called out.
"Anyone hear me? Ritsuko? Misato? Anyone?" Waiting a few seconds for a response, he gave up again, turning off the power.
[Still no response after...] he thought, checking the watch on his plug suit, [...ten minutes. According to this suit, I only have three minutes of power left. Better conserve it...]
Cyan sat back in his seat. [How could I get cut off from NERV Central like this? The Eva's sensors still detect the umbilical cable in my back... maybe there was a blackout at NERV? But they'd have to have backup systems of some sort...did someone attack NERV's power supply directly?]
[Well, whatever the reason, NERV's out of power, and I'm stranded here with three minutes of power left... What else could go wrong in my first shot at piloting the Eva?]
Suddenly, the shock of a jarring pain shot through Cyan's midsection. "Aah!" he grimaced, sitting upright, activating the power once more. A terrifying sight greeted him: a giant spider-like creature, it's body tattooed with eyes. It seemed to rear itself up, directing the lower section of its body toward Unit Five. The eye on the bottom of its centre seemed to be real, as it oozed an orange liquid, which it shot at the Evangelion. A burning sensation ripped through Cyan's body.
"Aah! Acid!?" he shouted in surprise as he jumped clear. Landing on top of a building, he reached for his waist, from which his high-frequency katana hung.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but here goes..."
--------------
"I'm picking up a weak signal," Maya shouted excitedly. Ritsuko rushed to the bridge bunny, listening in as the computer picked up a radio signal.
"I don.....ow if yo.....hear me.....here goes..." the computer played the radio signal.
"I think it's Cyan!" Ritsuko said, as the voice continued.
"I've.....isual confirmati.....the Eighth Angel...I've suffered minor injuri...requesti....ermission to engage targ....."
"Eighth Angel!?" Maya shouted aloud. Ritsuko looked up to Gendo.
"Unit Five is in range to attack the target. He's requesting permission to engage."
Gendo nodded, and Ritsuko pushed the 'Send' button.
"Cyan, if you can hear me, permission granted. Engage the target. Repeat, engage the target!"
--------------
"Engage...target. Repeat.... age target..."
Cyan grinned. "Alright, you angelic bastard, get ready for an ass whooping!"
Drawing his blade, he leaped to the next building, and flourishing his blade at one of the spider's limbs, slicing clean through it. The spider fell slightly, having lost its leg. Cyan crashed into the upright building, finding grip on the building-face. Kicking off it, he lunged at the creature once more, slicing off two more limbs. Acid blood flowed from the wounds, and the body fell to the ground.
"Yes!" Cyan raised his fist in victory, his debut battle a success. He shut off his power again, confident in the fact that he had succeeded. Only then did he feel the sting of another hit. Turning the power back on again, he saw that the spider had regenerated.
"What!? That's impossible!" Cyan shouted as he hacked at the spider again. Its lost limbs regenerated quicker this time, and one shot out, connecting with Unit Five's head.
"Unh!" He fell back, still conscious, but with a plan...
"Power off..." he said, and Unit Five deactivated again. Cyan waited for the signal that his plan worked...utter silence...
[Perfect!] Cyan had feigned defeat, conserving power for when the other pilots arrived. He checked his activation time.
[Shit! Thirty seconds!?] Cyan sat back once more. [So...that was an Angel...I wonder what it'll do now...Ah well...nothing more I can do unless they activate the other Evas...]
Cyan lifted his head. "There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface...consuming...confusing..." he sang...
------------
"Yeah, great short-cut of yours, Wondergirl," Asuka ranted, "'Ooh, we could utilise the ventilation shafts'...Frigging dumbkopf...Hey, Shinji, you better not be staring at my ass!"
Shinji kept his head down, and concentrated on crawling through the ducts.
"Hey, are you listening?" Asuka shouted. Shinji then made the critical mistake of looking up.
"AAGH! PERVERSER ASCHLUGH!" She kicked him in the face, creating a dull cracking sound. "You pervert!" Crack, crack.
Unfortunately, all of this excess movement in the ducts forced the bottom to give way, dropping Shinji and Asuka onto the ground below, in accordance with the Law of Anime, Article 47, subsection A (see Author Notes for an explanation). They also landed right in front of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. Rei followed soon after, landing on her feet, on Asuka and Shinji.
"Oh, that's where you've been!" Ritsuko smiled. Asuka and Shinji were able to get a glimpse of their surroundings, recognising the large room as the Cage, and spotted their Evangelions, all ready for combat, via the emergency diesel generators. Ritsuko shouted to the upper levels, "The pilots have arrived!"
Gendo acknowledged this new information. "Prepare for manual entry!"
Asuka picked herself up. "You mean the Evas are ready to launch? But how?"
Ritsuko smiled. "It was all done by hand. There's a diesel generator that can start the Evas, and also emergency battery supplies on the Evas' backs."
Gendo shouted to the kids. "Unit Five is already engaging the target, but he's low on power. By the time you get there, he'll probably be a liability. Engage the target while defending Unit Five."
Three nods and "Hai"s was the response. The three pilots went for the elevator, to enter their Evangelions...
--------------
[This feeling...] Cyan had begun to feel the resurgence of that strange sense of anticipation. [What is this that I'm feeling?] As he thought it, it changed from anticipation to something nearer to determination mixed with glee...the word 'bloodlust' came to mind.
[Is this something I'm supposed to feel inside the Eva? If it is, then why didn't Ritsuko tell me?] The feeling inside him now accompanied the strange pulling sensation from his chest.
[And what is this? Can I sense where the Angel is..?] Suddenly, this pulling sensation increased, or to be more accurate, quadrupled.
"About bloody time!" Cyan said, in the belief that this signified the activation of the other three Evangelions. "Better hang back for a while..."
---------------
"This is so embarrassing!" Asuka cried as Units Zero, One and Two proceeded to crawl through the biggest bloody ventilation duct in existence.
"Vertical shaft in sight," Rei said, as Asuka put her foot through the steel cover, and climbed out to the shaft. The Evas progressed up the pipe until...
"Gaah!" Rei felt a burning sensation rip through her back. Looking up, she saw giant globs of orange fluid fall from the top of the shaft. "It's acid! Watch out!" she warned.
Asuka looked up, and a glob fell into her face. "Aaaagh!" she wailed, as her hands went to her face. She fell, crashing into Unit Two, causing them to fall, landing on Unit One. The three Evas fell, pilots screaming, until Shinji flung Unit One's arms out, getting a grip on a handhold. The momentum swung The Evangelions back into the ventilation shaft. There they waited.
"It seems that the Angel is to attack the base directly using that acid," Rei concluded.
"What are we gonna do?" Shinji asked.
"What'll we do!? We'll defeat it of course!" Asuka shouted.
"Yeah, but how?"
"Maybe I can help..." Cyan's monitor appeared in the Evangelion's HUD.
"Cyan! You still have power?"
"Twenty-seven seconds and counting," Cyan said, "Where are you guys?"
"In a vent shaft directly below an acid-drooling Angel," Asuka replied in a sarcastic cheer, "What's more we've lost our weapons down the shaft as well. How about you?"
"I can help you. I'll clear the Angel away, one of you go down and get the guns, the other two come up top. Gunrunner throws up the guns, and the other two blast the crap outta this thing. Sound good?"
Silence. "I've got fifteen seconds of power left, nine by the time I clear him. I can get in a few more hits, then he's all yours, got it?"
"I will get the weapons," Rei said.
"Hang on, Shinji, we're going up!"
"Alright," Cyan said, "Here goes!" Unit Five charged at the Angel once more. It reared its head once more, spitting more dissolving solution at the Eva. Cyan raised his arm.
"AT field!" The acid spilled off of an invisible barrier, creating a hexagonal effect, just as Ritsuko said it would. Cyan continued the charge, slashing his sword in front of him on his way past the Angel, sending it flying.
"The shaft is clear! Come on up!"
Mere seconds later, Unit One emerged followed by Unit Two. They stood either side of the pit, as two guns flew from the hole. Cyan was in front of the target, finely dicing the prey only just slower than it could regenerate.
Asuka shouted to Cyan. "Cyan, fall back!"
Cyan leapt into the air. "I'm clear!" He watched as rifle fodder riddled the minced body of the Angel, penetrating the flesh deeper than any sword strike, passing through the angel's core.
The body collapsed, but it was hard to tell if it was alive or dead. The firing ceased. Cyan came down on the Angel's body like a thunderbolt, his katana passing through the angel like a hot prog knife through butter.
"YEAH! MY HOUSE!" Cyan shouted, as he resheathed the sword, with split seconds to spare. The inside of the cockpit went dark once more...
--------------
Shinji was staring into the night sky, admiring the beauty of the stars, a beauty that can only really be seen through the absence of electricity.
"It's ironic," he stated, "Without electricity and artificial light, the sky looks so beautiful at night..."
"Yeah, but without the lights, it seems like there are no humans around..." Asuka complained. Almost as if to obey the German girl, the lights in the city were restored, block by block. "There, that's much better."
"Mankind fears the darkness," Rei commented, "and so he scraped away at the edges of it with fire."
"Hmph. A philosopher, huh?"
Shinji thought of something. "Is that what makes us a special species? Is that why the Angels attack us?"
"Who knows what they think?" a voice spoke up behind them. Shinji and Asuka turned to see Cyan walk down the hill, carrying four bags of take away food. Tossing a bag to each of the other pilots, he concluded by saying, "Eat up" in English, to make it sound more formal.
Shinji and Asuka eagerly opened their bags to find a hamburger (apparently entitled "Quarter Pounder" according to the wrapper) and fries. Cyan sat on the grass, placing a tray of drinks in the middle. Rei opened her bag, to find another hamburger, to her slight dismay.
"I dislike eating meat," she said softly.
"Ah, don't worry," Cyan assured, "I don't think McDonalds ever did use real beef anyway. And if they did, they would have processed the hell out of it..."
[God, haven't these people had McDonalds before?] Rei still looked at the burger as if it would contaminate her.
"Look, if you still have a problem with it, then you can have my McChicken burger. That's got even less real meat in it." He offered his unopened burger to Wondergirl, smiling. Rei took Cyan up on the offer silently, and took a bite.
"It's good," she said, chowing down on it. Cyan grinned, and bit into his quarter pounder.
"This stuff's not bad!" Asuka commented, "Where did you say this came from?"
"McDonalds," he said, "They used to be everywhere before Second Impact..."
Three strange looks from his fellow pilots. "...Apparently," he quickly added.
-------------
"C'mon, open, please!" Misato pleaded with the escape hatch, "I need to go to the bathroom now!"
Kaji looked up at the fearless, intrepid Misato Katsuragi, with a hint of wonder at how a woman like her ever made it to the rank of Captain. He also looked up her dress...
"You aren't looking up my dress, are you!?" she growled.
"No, ma'am," he replied. Just as he finished talking, the lights suddenly turned on again, and the elevator started. This caught the two people off balance, and they toppled to the floor, once again following Laws of Anime, Article 47, subsection A (look in the Author's Notes for an explanation.) The doors to the elevator opened, showing Ritsuko, Maya and Hyuga that a sweaty and exhausted Misato was laying on top of Kaji.
"Ugh, sex fiends," Maya commented in disgust.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
In the next instalment of Where Am I?...I don't know yet...
Author's Note: Well, there's Chapter 4. Sorry about the lengthy delay, as I've just been on holiday, without access to a computer. Chapter 5 should be coming soon.
Laws of Anime Article 47, subsection A - Law of Sensual Collapsibility: Any two anime characters of the opposite gender, when falling, will always land in a sexually compromising position.
Where Am I? Chapter 4 - It Always Hurts The First Time : Low Voltage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
Aoba reached his hand into the machine, pulling out a can of ICC canned coffee. A young child ran past him, proclaiming to the world that he had just won an ice cream bar. Aoba saw this and smiled.
[Even in times like this,] he thought, [Children can still live without a care in the world...lucky bastards...]
Aoba glanced into the window of the laundromat, where Ritsuko and Maya had just received their washing.
"God, the price of getting my laundry done is killing me!" Ritsuko exclaimed.
Maya agreed. "I know, I just wish I had the time to do laundry myself..."
Aoba now joined. "It could be worse. At least you sleep at home."
---------------
[Hmm...They finally caught that Osama Bin Laden guy..." Fuyutski commented as he read the paper. The trains were surprisingly efficient as the one he was on stopped at the City Centre only ten minutes late. The doors opened, as three people walked onboard. He lowered his paper, one of the people looking familiar to him.
"Oh, Commander Fuyutski," Ritsuko recognised her superior, "Good morning, sir."
Behind her, Maya and Aoba gave a slightly more rigid, official greeting. "Good Morning, Sir!"
Fuyutski grumbled slightly. "Good morning," he said. The doors hit home, and the train started to move again.
"You're up early today, sir," Ritsuko commented.
"I've got to represent Commander Ikari at a board meeting uptown," Fuyutski complained, "He always sticks me with the most tedious assignments... No way I could handle it all without the Magi's help. By the way, how's Unit Five coming along?"
"It's finished," Ritsuko said proudly, "The pilot's coming in for a test run this afternoon. Apart from that, we're going to go along with Unit Zero's second Prolonged Activation test."
"Ah, well, I expect good news..."
---------------
Cyan was trying to pay attention to the less than thrilling monotone voice of the elderly teacher, he really was, but for one he could barely understand him with his thick Japanese accent, and two, it was much more fun playing Unreal Tournament 2013 on his laptop.
CyanChosis was dishing it out to ZeroTaku, B-Boy, and Nobody like there was no tomorrow with his personal favourite: the Flak Cannon. He knew it was a cheap tactic, but more importantly, it was an effective one. It was easy to distinguish who was who, because of not just the names, but the custom made skins (by Kensuke) for each person there, except Cyan. Cyan had to stick with Remus (his regular character back from the days of UT 2003). While he knew that Kensuke was slightly more of a challenge, it was always fun to pick on Toji, who really was pathetic at shooting games. Shinji, however, turned out to be going fairly well, despite his tendency toward camping. Finally, Cyan filled Toji's face full of shrapnel once more and the match was over, with a roar of "GOD-LIKE!" over his headphones. Cyan gave a quiet "Yeah" as the results rolled up, telling the players that Cyan won on 150, followed closely by Kensuke on 146, then Shinji on 87, and Toji lingering back at 23. Cyan's hands rattled over the keyboard.
----------
CyanChosis: 4Ny0Ne UP for 4No+h3R?
ZeroTaku: $h1+! 1 4Lmo5T H4D y0U!
CyanChosis: 1t DOE5N'T m4++3r 1F u W1N By 4N INCh OR 4 M1L3, wiNNiNG i5 w1nniNg. U'll dO gOOD T0 RemEMBEr th4T, A1dA-B0y.
ZeroTaku: 53R10U$ly, DoN't C4lL ME +hAt!
CyanChosis: Hey, Shinji, u weren't bad for a newb.
Nobody: Thanks, Cyan. When did u learn to play?
CyanChosis: I used 2 train for at least 2 hours every night. I lived so far out of town, it was all I had 2 do at home. So, anyone else want another owning?
** MistressOfAll has joined the game **
MistressOfAll: U don't know the meaning of the word owning, Chosis!
CyanChosis: Ah, I was wondering when u'd turn up, Asuka...
** Blue has joined the game **
CyanChosis: REI!? U2?
Blue: I agree with Sohryu. We will destroy you.
CyanChosis: IS THIS A CHALLENGE??? U guys are on!
ZeroTaku: This'll make things interesting! I'm in!
Nobody: I think I'll sit this one out...
MistressOfAll: O NO U DON'T!!! U R NOT QUITTING ON ME NOW!
Nobody: Oh, alright...
** ClassRep has joined the game **
MistressOfAll: Ah, hi Hikari, I was just about to invite u...
ClassRep: come on, we're in class, you know! Out of this now!
MistressOfAll: come on, Hikari, join us...Toji's in...
ClassRep: Toji? Um...
ZeroTaku: Toji and Hikari sittin in a tree...
B-Boy: SHUT UP YOU LITTL ESHIT!
ClassRep: Ah, alright...I'm not that good, though...
MistressOfAll: Don't worry, the Stooges are easy beats, but by the look of those scores, we'll have to watch out 4 Cyan.
CyanChosis: Ooh, I'm a marked man now, am I?
MistressOfAll: Okay, what rules? Random Split Deathmatch?
CyanChosis: Random Split? WTF?
ZeroTaku: Random Split means teams are chosen randomly. Asuka, there's 7 ppl here...
MistressOfAll: Well 1 team has a xtra playr, don't they? How about we make it short, play to 10.
CyanChosis: Sounds cool to me! Let's get it on!
-----------
Kensuke (the initial user) clicked Play. The arena loaded, presenting everyone's screen with the same "Haul Ass!" screen, before the Teams table loaded. Toji, Rei, Shinji and Kensuke were on the Blue team, leaving Hikari, Asuka and Cyan on Red.
-----------
MistressOfAll: Ahh! Just my colour! And an all-girl team, too!
CyanChosis: U're lucky we're on the same team, Asuka...
MistressOfAll: U no, if u're that good, how'd you let Kensuke get that close to you in the last game?
CyanChosis: Ah, that's the key word...LET...
ClassRep: Um, how do I move?
MistressOfAll: Aaah! We gots a complete newb! Okay, Directional buttons are forward, back, and turning, mouse aims and fires, Space or Control jumps. Got it?
ClassRep: Okay. Now, let's own em while they suck us down!
CyanChosis: Aaah rofl! That's "suck IT down". Not that I'm sure if Toji would mind...
MistressOfAll: Gah! Perverse dumbkopf! Remind me to kill u when we get back home!
CyanChosis: That's not the sort of thing I remember easy...
MistressOfAll: Ah, shut up the game's starting!
-----------------
Indeed, the screen did immediately begin to go into Heads-up mode. Hikari followed Asuka toward the weapons and ammo, while Cyan hunted down his trusty Flak Cannon. On the way, he noticed that he was being shot, from the side, it seemed. He looked up, and saw a figure standing on a raised platform, firing a Lightning Gun at him. Cyan ran for cover, finding the safety of a tower before another shot could be fired. He faced forward again, only to find Toji waiting for him with a Bio Rifle.
Cyan strafed from Toji's fire, letting loose a volley of Link charges. Toji ate plasma, giving Cyan enough time to strafe back from cover and fire the concentrated Link beam at his face, blinding him while draining his health. Toji's body fell, and Cyan thought he had got the first kill, but evidently, Rei had, as just below the "You killed B-Boy" message was a "Blue drew first blood!" Looking back at the message counter while on the run, he read, "MistressOfAll tried to ride Blue's rocket."
[Asuka!] Cyan cursed as he ran for the Flak Cannon, now visible. When he was within three digital feet of it, pieces of red-hot lead zoomed past his face. Turning, he saw Rei with a Flak Cannon of her own, concentrated on Cyan. Cyan collected his favourite weapon before engaging in a shrapnel fight with Rei Ayanami. Asuka ran past, taking the opportunity to sneak past Rei and get the Damage Multiplier. Asuka then fired her Lightning Gun past Cyan, and he read "MistressOfAll's attack shocked Nobody" at the bottom of the screen.
[Thanks, Asuka,] he thought, then typed after he had dispatched Rei with some flying molten metal. Asuka ran off, looking for any of the Stooges. Cyan headed up, knocking off Shinji once, along with Toji twice and Rei once more, until he found the sniper spot from where Cyan was fired upon before. Sure enough, Kensuke was there, concentrated on the battle below, firing the odd shot. Cyan took the time to send a message to his friend before killing him: "Hey, Kensuke, want me to pitch a tent for ya!?"
----------------
Kensuke turned around, but alas, too late, as he copped another face full of Flak, his twenty-seventh this afternoon. "Dammit!" he shouted aloud in the classroom, attracting the attention of all its inhabitants.
"Mr. Aida," the teacher said, in his usual monotone voice, "What exactly are you damning?"
Back on the computer, Hikari had scored the winning kill against a motionless but resurrected Kensuke, and she, Rei, Shinji, Asuka and Cyan immediately exiting the program before they were all busted. The teacher used a ScreenChecker (Kensuke's own extra-credit project) to see what was on Kensuke's laptop.
"Oh, playing games again, are we?" the teacher discovered.
Kensuke gulped. "It...Wasn't..."
"I know it wasn't just you, I see that someone called B-Boy is playing too...Toji?"
It was Toji's turn to stand up and shout "Dammit!" now. "But we weren't the only ones! Asuka and Hikari and Cyan..."
Asuka turned around. "How DARE you accuse me of associating myself with you, let alone play one of your silly shooting games! And to accuse the class rep of such a heinous crime is inexcusable!"
"This is wrong!" Cyan piped up; "Here I am trying to catch up in my History work, while Kensuke's playing such an addictive game right in front of me! You don't know how distracting it is to see him die all the time!"
Kensuke blew his top. "WHAT!? YOU WERE THE ONE KILLING ME!!!"
Cyan lowered his voice, grinning from ear to ear. "How could I? I wasn't playing..."
"That's it!" the teacher bellowed. "Aida, Suzuhara, you're both on detention!"
"WHAT?! THAT'S UNFAIR!" The pair shouted in dismay.
Asuka could only laugh on the inside. [I can't believe that worked! If only there was a way I could convince the teacher that Baka Shinji was playing as well without putting my own head in a noose...]
Her thoughts were interrupted by a pop-up message. She opened it.
CyanChosis: I never got the chance to show you a real owning.
Asuka smirked. [This could be fun...]
MistressOfAll: You're ON!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
Note: Sorry, been playing too much UT 2003 lately, just had to get that out of my system. By the way, I don't own Unreal either, so don't ask, don't sue, don't even say another word about it. Now, where were we?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
After a few more games, both Asuka and Cyan respected each other's owning abilities, and they called it a tie. It was lucky they reached this conclusion, as shortly after, the dismissal bell rung clear. As the class rose from their chairs, the teacher tried to inform them of a coming test, but nobody could hear the poor man.
"Uh, the test will cover...it will cover..." the teacher now found it a lost cause. He then spotted Toji and Kensuke trying to sneak out. "Hey, you two! Did you forget you had a detention?"
The two stooges cursed silently, and went back to their seats. Asuka let out a laugh, and proceeded out the door. Cyan followed, and eventually caught up with her, Rei and Shinji.
"So, going home?" Cyan said.
"We've got sync tests," Shinji lamented, "I think it's just us three."
"Sync tests? Well, good luck, I suppose?"
"Luck's got nothing to do with it," Asuka said brashly, "It's all down to the skill of the pilot. Not that I have to worry about that!"
"Well, confidence is always good too," Cyan smirked. "I'll meet you guys back at the house."
"See you later!" Shinji said, as they walked away. Suddenly, Shinji's cell phone rang. He answered with a meek "Hello?"
"Shinji," Misato said over the phone, "Is Cyan with you?"
"Hai, hang on a sec," Shinji put his hand over the mouthpiece, and shouted out to Cyan. He turned and started walking back.
"Tell him to go to NERV HQ," Misato commanded, "Unit Five is ready. We're setting your sync tests back until tomorrow. I'll see you at home after the test is over."
"Bye." Shinji turned to Cyan. "You're coming with us."
Cyan was slightly surprised by the sudden change of plans. "Oh, okay," he said, "Why the change of plans?"
"They've finished building Unit Five," Shinji explained, "They probably want you for a test run."
"Cool." Cyan began to walk with the group of pilots. "Say, how far is NERV HQ anyway?"
"About 2.3 kilometres," Rei said calmly.
"Jeez," Cyan said to himself as he walked on, in the opposite direction to the other three.
---------------
"Abort the test! Break the circuits!" Ritsuko commanded as the monitor flashed 'EMERGENCY' repeatedly. The room went black for about five seconds, before restoring itself.
"Power restored," Aoba reported. Ritsuko and Maya watched with intent as representations of the many connections inside the Eva appeared on the screen. One that read GTT1001 glowed red, standing out amongst the green ones.
"That one again!" Ritsuko said angrily, "What's wrong with it?"
"Conversion efficiency is down 0.8% from expectations," Maya explained.
"Okay, let's go over again," Ritsuko said, "but lower the reciprocal conversion rate by 0.01. Let's go."
---------------
At that time, elsewhere in the depths of NERV Central, Misato had just boarded an elevator, when she heard a familiar cry from behind her.
"Hey! Hold the elevator!" she heard Kaji cry. With a slight smile, she pushed the 'Close Doors' button. Kaji ran the few metres in between him and the elevator, Misato hoping that he wouldn't make it. Alas, his hand reached into the small gap that the elevator had left, and the doors opened to accommodate the rest of his body.
Misato cursed her misfortune, as Kaji entered the elevator. "Man, it's been a while since I've run that much!" Kaji commented, gasping for air, "So, what's with the black expression, sunshine?"
Misato was livid. "It's nausea from having to see you again," she retorted.
-------------
Cyan gazed up at the head of Evangelion Unit Five from the catwalk. "So, this is my Evangelion..." he said in amazement. The design was similar to that of Unit One, with the replacement of the purple and green colour scheme with one of teal and dark brown, giving it a camouflage appearance. As with Unit One, a horn had been added to the faceplate, creating a darker appearance.
"Yes," Ritsuko confirmed, "This is Evangelion Unit Five..."
Cyan asked a question that had been bugging him. "What happened to Units Three and Four?"
"They're still being made in the Unites States," Ritsuko explained, "It's taking so long because of the Mechanic's Union strikes in America. That and Americans being so damn lazy..."
Cyan stifled a laugh. "So this is combat-ready?" he asked, referring to the Evangelion in front of him.
"Yep, you're scheduled for a test run in half an hour. Get suited up and back here by eighteen-hundred."
"Hai." Cyan walked out of the Cage room. He looked back at his Evangelion one last time. [My Eva...]
------------
"So, Shinji," Asuka began, "What's for tea tonight?"
"Don't ask me," Shinji replied, "It's Misato's turn again..." The two pilots shuddered at the thought.
"Take out?" Asuka suggested fast food.
"Sure," Shinji said, relieving Asuka to no end. Rei followed the two pilots, staying quiet. Suddenly, she stopped walking. Asuka and Shinji took a couple more paces each, before noticing Rei was not following.
"What's wrong, Rei?" Shinji asked.
"We must get to NERV Central immediately," was all Rei said, before turning and running toward NERV.
"Huh? What's Wondergirl up to now..?" Asuka wondered.
"Hmm...Hey, that must be Cyan's new Eva..." Shinji noticed the Evangelion seemingly rise from the ground. "Looks a bit like mine..."
Asuka watched Cyan come to grips with walking, running and all the basic stuff that she had already mastered. She noticed that the Eva was indeed a lot like Shinji's, it almost had the appearance of an old Japanese samurai, especially with the long sheath attached to its left side.
-------------
"Very good, Cyan," Ritsuko complimented the new pilot, "It's not all that different from the test bodies, as you can tell..."
"Yeah, but I'm getting this strange feeling in my stomach," Cyan complained, "Is this normal?"
"What, you're nervous?"
"No, it's not that...it's a kind of...I'm not sure, anticipation?"
"Strange...your mental readings are normal... Sorry, we can't tell you what the problem is... Anyway, on with the lesson. You know about the Evangelion's AT field?"
"Um, no..."
"Basically, it's a protective barrier that the Eva can create around itself. To use it, either command the Eva to use it verbally, or concentrate on deploying it yourself. If you do this, your AT field will activate and you can use it to deflect the enemy's attacks."
"Sweet..."
"Don't rely on it, though," Ritsuko warned, "It's quite tricky to use."
--------------
Even further in the depths of NERV, a shadowy figure crept toward a thick cable, cradling a chainsaw in his hands. Starting the chainsaw, he brought the rotating teeth of the chain down on the cable, severing it with sparkling electricity...
-------------
The digital projection of the city disappeared from the inside of Cyan's entry plug, leaving him in the dark.
"Hey, what's going on, Ritsuko?" Cyan asked. No response. "Ritsuko?" Still nothing. "Something's happened..."
-------------
Back in the elevator, all of the lights blacked out. The elevator, however, was still going
"Huh? What's happened? Did the power go?" Kaji said.
"Of course not, that's impossible!" Misato declared. Almost as if to directly contradict her, the elevator immediately stopped moving.
"I think it has..." Kaji confirmed the obvious truth in a singsong voice, infuriating Misato further.
"Not to worry," Misato said confidently, "The backup power supply will kick in soon."
-------------
"Main power has terminated! Total voltage is zero!" Maya panicked. A similar feeling had spread through most of the Bridge.
Aoba continued with the bad news. "Only 1.2% of backup supply circuits are operational!"
Fuyutski managed the remaining power supply fairly unevenly. "Divert that power to maintaining the Magi."
"But...that could interfere with our life support systems..!" Aoba complained.
"Do it!" Fuyutski snapped, "We need the Magi!"
-------------
"So why is it so important that we get to NERV?" Asuka asked, clearly frustrated by the fast pace that Rei the Blue-Haired Wonder was keeping.
"Look to your right," was Rei's only response. Asuka managed to crane her neck to her right, and saw the reason that they were all running at full steam.
"Is that..?"
"Looks like it," Shinji panted, "Not to worry though, Cyan's still in his Eva. He can take care of it."
"Evangelion Unit Five has ceased function," Rei said, with full voice despite the hard running, "The power has failed throughout the city."
"How do you know all this stuff already?" Asuka was curious of how Rei seemed to know everything before it happens.
"There are no traffic lights..."
"Ah, shut up!" Asuka continued to run, pouring on more gas in an attempt to overtake Rei. Shinji decided to hang back.
"Good, you're keeping up now," Rei said clearly, as she too increased her speed, completely outstripping Asuka.
"Ah, dammit!" Asuka said, staggering to a halt, letting Rei and Shinji bolt past again before starting to run again.
---------------
"Why is it taking so long for the backup power to kick in!?" Misato had lost her patience.
"Something might be wrong with the backup generator," Kaji suggested.
"Really?" Misato groaned melodramatically, "Of course there's something wrong with the backup generator! But, there's heaps of different circuits..."
"So that means..."
-----------
"That this was done on purpose." Gendo concluded.
"But, why would someone just want to cut the power?" Fuyutski pondered.
"Well, by monitoring the way we reactivate all of our systems, it is feasible that they could gain a deeper knowledge of the workings of this facility." Ritsuko, as usual, had all the answers.
"Clever bastards," Gendo concluded, "Run a dummy program through the Magi. That should distort the signals sufficiently."
"Affirmative," Ritsuko confirmed, as she typed away. While doing this, Maya commented on the situation.
"It'd be tragic if an Angel attacked right now..."
-----------
"Radar has detected an unidentified object heading north-east towards Tokyo- 3," the military man said, "Roughly 400 metres across."
"Must be the eighth one," the commander said, "Well, nothing we can do 'cept for report it to the JSSDF..."
-----------
"Yes, I know that the Eighth Angel's heading our way, but we're getting no response from NERV! We can't contact them!"
"Well, they told us to take care of it, didn't they?" the JSSDF colonel snarled.
"Yeah, those Tokyo-2 buttheads always defer to us when the going gets tough..."
"Get a plane to fly over or something. We need to tell NERV about the Angel NOW!"
-----------
"Dammit, Asuka," Shinji complained while manually opening a door designed for automatic use (with the help of a stiff, rusted over crank), "You're the one who always wants to be in charge, but when the going gets tough, you always palm it off to me..."
"Quit complaining!" Asuka said in an authoritative tone, "You're a boy, you know!"
Rei said nothing, either deciding not to get involved or just because she wasn't ordered to. Shinji finally got the door open halfway, looking at Asuka with content in his task.
"Hmph, good enough." Asuka pushed Shinji out of the way and wriggled through the gap. Rei watched Shinji gather himself together and slide through the door, before following the other pilots.
------------
"I can't feel, the way I did before, don't turn your back on me, I WON'T BE IGNORED!..."
Cyan was still cut off from the rest of the world, inside his Eva plug. Usually he'd kick back and listen to some music if he was ever bored, but seeing as that was impossible, he sang them himself. He had just finished Linkin Park's Faint when he had decided it was time to try again. Activating the unit's power once more, he called out.
"Anyone hear me? Ritsuko? Misato? Anyone?" Waiting a few seconds for a response, he gave up again, turning off the power.
[Still no response after...] he thought, checking the watch on his plug suit, [...ten minutes. According to this suit, I only have three minutes of power left. Better conserve it...]
Cyan sat back in his seat. [How could I get cut off from NERV Central like this? The Eva's sensors still detect the umbilical cable in my back... maybe there was a blackout at NERV? But they'd have to have backup systems of some sort...did someone attack NERV's power supply directly?]
[Well, whatever the reason, NERV's out of power, and I'm stranded here with three minutes of power left... What else could go wrong in my first shot at piloting the Eva?]
Suddenly, the shock of a jarring pain shot through Cyan's midsection. "Aah!" he grimaced, sitting upright, activating the power once more. A terrifying sight greeted him: a giant spider-like creature, it's body tattooed with eyes. It seemed to rear itself up, directing the lower section of its body toward Unit Five. The eye on the bottom of its centre seemed to be real, as it oozed an orange liquid, which it shot at the Evangelion. A burning sensation ripped through Cyan's body.
"Aah! Acid!?" he shouted in surprise as he jumped clear. Landing on top of a building, he reached for his waist, from which his high-frequency katana hung.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but here goes..."
--------------
"I'm picking up a weak signal," Maya shouted excitedly. Ritsuko rushed to the bridge bunny, listening in as the computer picked up a radio signal.
"I don.....ow if yo.....hear me.....here goes..." the computer played the radio signal.
"I think it's Cyan!" Ritsuko said, as the voice continued.
"I've.....isual confirmati.....the Eighth Angel...I've suffered minor injuri...requesti....ermission to engage targ....."
"Eighth Angel!?" Maya shouted aloud. Ritsuko looked up to Gendo.
"Unit Five is in range to attack the target. He's requesting permission to engage."
Gendo nodded, and Ritsuko pushed the 'Send' button.
"Cyan, if you can hear me, permission granted. Engage the target. Repeat, engage the target!"
--------------
"Engage...target. Repeat.... age target..."
Cyan grinned. "Alright, you angelic bastard, get ready for an ass whooping!"
Drawing his blade, he leaped to the next building, and flourishing his blade at one of the spider's limbs, slicing clean through it. The spider fell slightly, having lost its leg. Cyan crashed into the upright building, finding grip on the building-face. Kicking off it, he lunged at the creature once more, slicing off two more limbs. Acid blood flowed from the wounds, and the body fell to the ground.
"Yes!" Cyan raised his fist in victory, his debut battle a success. He shut off his power again, confident in the fact that he had succeeded. Only then did he feel the sting of another hit. Turning the power back on again, he saw that the spider had regenerated.
"What!? That's impossible!" Cyan shouted as he hacked at the spider again. Its lost limbs regenerated quicker this time, and one shot out, connecting with Unit Five's head.
"Unh!" He fell back, still conscious, but with a plan...
"Power off..." he said, and Unit Five deactivated again. Cyan waited for the signal that his plan worked...utter silence...
[Perfect!] Cyan had feigned defeat, conserving power for when the other pilots arrived. He checked his activation time.
[Shit! Thirty seconds!?] Cyan sat back once more. [So...that was an Angel...I wonder what it'll do now...Ah well...nothing more I can do unless they activate the other Evas...]
Cyan lifted his head. "There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface...consuming...confusing..." he sang...
------------
"Yeah, great short-cut of yours, Wondergirl," Asuka ranted, "'Ooh, we could utilise the ventilation shafts'...Frigging dumbkopf...Hey, Shinji, you better not be staring at my ass!"
Shinji kept his head down, and concentrated on crawling through the ducts.
"Hey, are you listening?" Asuka shouted. Shinji then made the critical mistake of looking up.
"AAGH! PERVERSER ASCHLUGH!" She kicked him in the face, creating a dull cracking sound. "You pervert!" Crack, crack.
Unfortunately, all of this excess movement in the ducts forced the bottom to give way, dropping Shinji and Asuka onto the ground below, in accordance with the Law of Anime, Article 47, subsection A (see Author Notes for an explanation). They also landed right in front of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. Rei followed soon after, landing on her feet, on Asuka and Shinji.
"Oh, that's where you've been!" Ritsuko smiled. Asuka and Shinji were able to get a glimpse of their surroundings, recognising the large room as the Cage, and spotted their Evangelions, all ready for combat, via the emergency diesel generators. Ritsuko shouted to the upper levels, "The pilots have arrived!"
Gendo acknowledged this new information. "Prepare for manual entry!"
Asuka picked herself up. "You mean the Evas are ready to launch? But how?"
Ritsuko smiled. "It was all done by hand. There's a diesel generator that can start the Evas, and also emergency battery supplies on the Evas' backs."
Gendo shouted to the kids. "Unit Five is already engaging the target, but he's low on power. By the time you get there, he'll probably be a liability. Engage the target while defending Unit Five."
Three nods and "Hai"s was the response. The three pilots went for the elevator, to enter their Evangelions...
--------------
[This feeling...] Cyan had begun to feel the resurgence of that strange sense of anticipation. [What is this that I'm feeling?] As he thought it, it changed from anticipation to something nearer to determination mixed with glee...the word 'bloodlust' came to mind.
[Is this something I'm supposed to feel inside the Eva? If it is, then why didn't Ritsuko tell me?] The feeling inside him now accompanied the strange pulling sensation from his chest.
[And what is this? Can I sense where the Angel is..?] Suddenly, this pulling sensation increased, or to be more accurate, quadrupled.
"About bloody time!" Cyan said, in the belief that this signified the activation of the other three Evangelions. "Better hang back for a while..."
---------------
"This is so embarrassing!" Asuka cried as Units Zero, One and Two proceeded to crawl through the biggest bloody ventilation duct in existence.
"Vertical shaft in sight," Rei said, as Asuka put her foot through the steel cover, and climbed out to the shaft. The Evas progressed up the pipe until...
"Gaah!" Rei felt a burning sensation rip through her back. Looking up, she saw giant globs of orange fluid fall from the top of the shaft. "It's acid! Watch out!" she warned.
Asuka looked up, and a glob fell into her face. "Aaaagh!" she wailed, as her hands went to her face. She fell, crashing into Unit Two, causing them to fall, landing on Unit One. The three Evas fell, pilots screaming, until Shinji flung Unit One's arms out, getting a grip on a handhold. The momentum swung The Evangelions back into the ventilation shaft. There they waited.
"It seems that the Angel is to attack the base directly using that acid," Rei concluded.
"What are we gonna do?" Shinji asked.
"What'll we do!? We'll defeat it of course!" Asuka shouted.
"Yeah, but how?"
"Maybe I can help..." Cyan's monitor appeared in the Evangelion's HUD.
"Cyan! You still have power?"
"Twenty-seven seconds and counting," Cyan said, "Where are you guys?"
"In a vent shaft directly below an acid-drooling Angel," Asuka replied in a sarcastic cheer, "What's more we've lost our weapons down the shaft as well. How about you?"
"I can help you. I'll clear the Angel away, one of you go down and get the guns, the other two come up top. Gunrunner throws up the guns, and the other two blast the crap outta this thing. Sound good?"
Silence. "I've got fifteen seconds of power left, nine by the time I clear him. I can get in a few more hits, then he's all yours, got it?"
"I will get the weapons," Rei said.
"Hang on, Shinji, we're going up!"
"Alright," Cyan said, "Here goes!" Unit Five charged at the Angel once more. It reared its head once more, spitting more dissolving solution at the Eva. Cyan raised his arm.
"AT field!" The acid spilled off of an invisible barrier, creating a hexagonal effect, just as Ritsuko said it would. Cyan continued the charge, slashing his sword in front of him on his way past the Angel, sending it flying.
"The shaft is clear! Come on up!"
Mere seconds later, Unit One emerged followed by Unit Two. They stood either side of the pit, as two guns flew from the hole. Cyan was in front of the target, finely dicing the prey only just slower than it could regenerate.
Asuka shouted to Cyan. "Cyan, fall back!"
Cyan leapt into the air. "I'm clear!" He watched as rifle fodder riddled the minced body of the Angel, penetrating the flesh deeper than any sword strike, passing through the angel's core.
The body collapsed, but it was hard to tell if it was alive or dead. The firing ceased. Cyan came down on the Angel's body like a thunderbolt, his katana passing through the angel like a hot prog knife through butter.
"YEAH! MY HOUSE!" Cyan shouted, as he resheathed the sword, with split seconds to spare. The inside of the cockpit went dark once more...
--------------
Shinji was staring into the night sky, admiring the beauty of the stars, a beauty that can only really be seen through the absence of electricity.
"It's ironic," he stated, "Without electricity and artificial light, the sky looks so beautiful at night..."
"Yeah, but without the lights, it seems like there are no humans around..." Asuka complained. Almost as if to obey the German girl, the lights in the city were restored, block by block. "There, that's much better."
"Mankind fears the darkness," Rei commented, "and so he scraped away at the edges of it with fire."
"Hmph. A philosopher, huh?"
Shinji thought of something. "Is that what makes us a special species? Is that why the Angels attack us?"
"Who knows what they think?" a voice spoke up behind them. Shinji and Asuka turned to see Cyan walk down the hill, carrying four bags of take away food. Tossing a bag to each of the other pilots, he concluded by saying, "Eat up" in English, to make it sound more formal.
Shinji and Asuka eagerly opened their bags to find a hamburger (apparently entitled "Quarter Pounder" according to the wrapper) and fries. Cyan sat on the grass, placing a tray of drinks in the middle. Rei opened her bag, to find another hamburger, to her slight dismay.
"I dislike eating meat," she said softly.
"Ah, don't worry," Cyan assured, "I don't think McDonalds ever did use real beef anyway. And if they did, they would have processed the hell out of it..."
[God, haven't these people had McDonalds before?] Rei still looked at the burger as if it would contaminate her.
"Look, if you still have a problem with it, then you can have my McChicken burger. That's got even less real meat in it." He offered his unopened burger to Wondergirl, smiling. Rei took Cyan up on the offer silently, and took a bite.
"It's good," she said, chowing down on it. Cyan grinned, and bit into his quarter pounder.
"This stuff's not bad!" Asuka commented, "Where did you say this came from?"
"McDonalds," he said, "They used to be everywhere before Second Impact..."
Three strange looks from his fellow pilots. "...Apparently," he quickly added.
-------------
"C'mon, open, please!" Misato pleaded with the escape hatch, "I need to go to the bathroom now!"
Kaji looked up at the fearless, intrepid Misato Katsuragi, with a hint of wonder at how a woman like her ever made it to the rank of Captain. He also looked up her dress...
"You aren't looking up my dress, are you!?" she growled.
"No, ma'am," he replied. Just as he finished talking, the lights suddenly turned on again, and the elevator started. This caught the two people off balance, and they toppled to the floor, once again following Laws of Anime, Article 47, subsection A (look in the Author's Notes for an explanation.) The doors to the elevator opened, showing Ritsuko, Maya and Hyuga that a sweaty and exhausted Misato was laying on top of Kaji.
"Ugh, sex fiends," Maya commented in disgust.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
In the next instalment of Where Am I?...I don't know yet...
Author's Note: Well, there's Chapter 4. Sorry about the lengthy delay, as I've just been on holiday, without access to a computer. Chapter 5 should be coming soon.
Laws of Anime Article 47, subsection A - Law of Sensual Collapsibility: Any two anime characters of the opposite gender, when falling, will always land in a sexually compromising position.